The present disclosure relates generally to hazardous gas enclosures and, more specifically, to an integrated ventilation and leak detection system for use with a gas fuel module in a gas turbine fuel system.
Generally a gas turbine fuel system delivers fuel, such as propane, to a turbine combustion chamber to be combusted for power generation. Known components of such gas fuel systems include gas control valves and gas stop ratio valves housed in a gas fuel module enclosure. Typically any enclosure that contains hazardous gas, such as a gas fuel module, includes a ventilation system to dilute minor gas leaks within the enclosure. Additionally, a separate leak detection or scavenging system is used to detect any potential fuel leakage from within the enclosure.
At least some known gas fuel modules include a ventilation system located outside of the enclosure to provide ventilation therein. The ventilation system includes vent fans that extract air from the enclosure. However, because some fuel used in gas turbine engines is heavier than air, it tends to accumulate within a bottom part of the enclosure. Therefore, some known gas fuel modules also include a separate low point scavenging system within the enclosure. The scavenging system extracts a combination of air and gas from the bottom of the enclosure through a ducting system and is used to identify a presence of hazardous gas. In at least some cases, a use of two separate systems within the gas fuel module increases a cost of equipment, installation, and/or maintenance of the gas fuel module.